


fai la nanna, principino (hush a bye, little prince)

by alykapedia



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nico Feels, sorta?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-28
Updated: 2013-10-28
Packaged: 2017-12-30 17:54:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1021643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alykapedia/pseuds/alykapedia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Good night, good night, my little prince,<br/>I'll keep you safe and I'll keep you warm.</p><p>Nico di Angelo, and the five people who wished him good night.</p>
            </blockquote>





	fai la nanna, principino (hush a bye, little prince)

_maria_

He is so little, Maria thinks fondly, brushing her fingers against soft cheeks and downy hair, that it is so ridiculously easy to forget that he is not just _her little Nico_. It’s so easy to forget that the precious bundle in her arms; so little, so soft, so warm, is not just her beautiful baby boy, but something else entirely, something dangerous, something forbidden. 

And it is in moments like this, without Hades’ calming presence in the shadows of her mind, when she remembers the weight of responsibility she has plied upon her children’s shoulders because of her love. 

“Sleep well, my little prince,” Maria whispers into the ringing silence of the room, hugging her son tightly against her bosom as if daring anyone to take him away from her. 

Olympus would have to bear down on her dead body before they can take her children, and even then, Maria di Angelo thinks vindictively, _they would not succeed_.

 

 

_bianca_

It’s become a ritual of sorts; ingrained into the far corners of Bianca’s mind, entwined within the memories of a childhood she no longer remembers but continually yearns for whenever Nico is dangerously hanging off the frayed edges of her patience. It’s just a silly collection of phrases, Bianca knows, but it warms her to the very tips of her toes and brings this ridiculously bright smile to Nico’s lips every single time, so she sticks to their silly little ritual; finds the words falling out of her lips whenever she hears her brother fall into the adjacent bed every night. 

“Good night, Nico.” She’ll say with bright eyes and a barely-there smile.  

“G’night, Bianca.” Nico will reply in a mumble, in a shout, in a whine, but he’ll say it every time. 

And then Bianca will say, “Sweet dreams.” 

And Nico will answer; voice already muffled with the first trickles of sleep, “Sweet dreams.” 

After that mumbled response, Bianca will pause and take a deep breath before she asks herself the question she asks every night, even as she knows with a certainty in her very bones that the answer will never change. Because if there was one thing that will be a constant in her life, Bianca knows that it will be _this_. “I love you, Nico,” she’ll whisper, the words leaving her lips honey sweet and slow. 

“Love you too.”

 

 

_persephone_

 

She hates him. 

Really, she does. He’s a constant reminder of her husband’s affair with _that woman_ and sometimes, Persephone just wants to turn him into a geranium permanently. But she doesn’t. Because as much as she hates him and what he reminds her of, Nico di Angelo is a kindred spirit here in the Underworld. 

And sometimes, sometimes in her more wistful moments, Persephone likes to pretend that he’s hers; that this fragile little boy has her ichor flowing in his veins and his bones aren’t made of the breakable substance that humans are made of. So she keeps watch over him in his darkest nights, stands over him like a sentinel and coaxes his nightmares away, because this is what mothers do, isn’t it? 

“ _Sleep well, my child.”_  

 

 

_hazel_

 

It’s unsettling at first, Hazel’s not really comfortable with someone watching her while she sleeps, but she gets used to it soon enough. Welcomes it, even, especially during the nights where her nightmares feel so real and she feels as if she can no longer hear her heart beating inside her chest and that she’s back spending eternity in nothingness. Nico’s presence is a balm on her soul, his unerring presence in the shadows a comfort she never expected. 

And then there are nights when Hazel wakes to see Nico sleeping on the foot of her bed, dark lashes kissing pale, pale cheeks and Hazel smiles and sits up, dragging her blanket to him and covering them both. “Good night, Nico,” she whispers sleepily, leaning against the wall and pressing her cheek against her brother’s soft hair. 

The nightmares never come.

 

 

_reyna_

 

The nightmares wrack his body in violent shudders and yells, and Reyna is at a loss of what to do. Because this is an enemy that she can’t run through with her gladius, and it leaves her feeling weak and useless. But defeat is not in her nature and Reyna feels as if she needs to do something, anything for this sad, little boy hiding behind shadows and darkness. 

So she kneels down and gently, _gently_ places his head in her lap, humming a remnant of a lullaby until he stops thrashing around. “Sleep, Nico di Angelo,” Reyna murmurs softly, carding tender fingers in inky black hair. “I’m here,” she assures him, and it’s an empty comfort, she knows, but it calms him down nonetheless and lights a warm fire inside her chest, so Reyna keeps talking. 

“I’ll keep you safe,” she promises later, when the last of the embers have gone out and Nico’s weight across her lap is the only source of warmth, and Reyna knows with an unfailing certainty that she’ll keep her promise. 

_Or die trying._

 

**Author's Note:**

> i am not gomen


End file.
